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Mining Feasibility Studies

Optimizing the project development plan while minimizing risks

Our goal is to maximize the underlying value of your mineral resource by employing the correct project concepts, in alignment with your corporate goals and development strategies. We will rigorously prepare an optimized mine plan using proven methods that provide production surety. We know what works, and which issues constitute opportunities and risks.

Our experienced mining consultants have spent many years on operating mines prior to consulting. This experience helps us offer practical expertise in a wide range of technical services from mining geology and resource estimation, to tailings and heap leach engineering, through mine planning, permitting, and closure. This blend of know-how, together with the innovative application of advanced mining technologies, has led to the wide acceptance of our engineering studies by the mining, banking and investment community internationally.

Teams of consultants are assembled to meet the unique needs of each project. We typically partner with an EPCM company which provides mineral processing and infrastructure design experience. Our strong relationships with several of these companies enable us to form the partnership best suited to your project’s challenges. Our services consist of the preparation of scoping studies, mining pre-feasibility and feasibility studies for both underground and open pit mine projects.

Being part of the SRK worldwide consulting group means we have access to many global specialists who complement local expertise with the geological, geotechnical, hydrogeological, mining, metallurgical, mine closure, environmental and social skills to match the specific challenges of your project.

Jarek Jakubec has 30 years of operating and consulting experience in the mining industry. He specializes in mass mining, rock mechanics, diamond mining, and technical auditing.

As a cave mining expert, Jarek has worked on most of the world’s caving and sublevel caving projects. He has participated in several international research projects, including the Mass Mining Technology initiative, and worked with Dr. Laubscher to develop a rock mass classification system for caving mines. With Gemcom Software, Jarek developed a planning tool for sublevel caving mines and has lectured on cave mining on five continents.

Jarek acted as an expert witness in the Northparkes cave mine collapse court case and is a Qualified Person in terms of NI 43-101.

Jeff has 30 years of mining and engineering experience specializing in surface and underground mining, construction, and energy-related services, including production. With his extensive understanding of surface and underground mining, waste disposal, mine infrastructure, and mine economics, Jeff is able to coordinate these efforts in a way that maximizes the value of a Feasibility Study.

Jeff has worked with multi-cultural and multi-consultancy teams to develop and execute field programs and coordinate the engineering needed to complete feasibility-level studies. He has a sound understanding of how to combine information from different disciplines to create comprehensive and robust feasibility studies. He is also proficient in defining and mitigating project risks. Jeff has maintained schedules, managed and controlled costs, and planned scopes to the required level of detail on multiple projects.

Gary Poxleitner has more than 27 years of operational, engineering, management, and consulting experience in the mining industry. He specializes in underground mine design and economics, due diligence, and operational improvement.

Gary has worked with a wide range of commodities at near surface and ultra-deep producing mines around the world. This work has included operating cost estimates, operational audits, due diligence reviews, and technical studies from PEAs to Feasibility and projects into the execution phase. His operating experience includes narrow vein gold mining at Giant Mine near Yellowknife, a room and pillar and bulk mining zinc-copper operation at Myra Falls on Vancouver Island, sub-level caving, open stopping and remnant mining at the nickel-copper Sudbury basin with Vale and caving and VCR methods at the DeBeers Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa.

Gary serves actively on a number of boards including local and national CIM and is a regular guest speaker and lecturer at mine conferences and universities.

Feature project

Development of conceptual hydrogeological and 3-D numerical groundwater-flow model; evaluation of passive inflow and dewatering requirements to the proposed open pit; estimation of propagation of drawdown during mining; and prediction of pit lake infilling and potential impacts to the groundwater system during both mining and post-mining conditions.

The challenge to SRK was to predict inflow to a large open pit mine from discrete, highly conductive faults then predict the behaviour of the post-mining pit lake. SRK undertook extensive hydrogeological studies at the Hycroft gold deposit that has culminated in predictive numerical groundwater flow models.

Client:

Mineração Caraiba S.A. (MCSA)

Project:

Feasibility Study, Boa Esperança, Brazil

The Boa Esperança deposit is a mineralized breccia body containing copper, cobalt, and molybdenum. The original plan was to process 12,000 tonnes per day, using standard copper flotation to produce 762 Mlbs of copper with a concentrate grade of 28.4% Cu. In 2012, SRK was chosen to lead the multi-disciplinary team responsible for producing a full feasibility study. The team followed standard CIM reporting practices within the NI 43-101 framework, addressing technical issues such as geology and resources, mining and reserves, geotechnical aspects, metallurgy, and economic modelling.

SRK leveraged its in-depth understanding of Brazilian mining conditions and called for specialized mine haulage equipment rather than highway trucks using rock beds in the 40t range. This was the most beneficial option for the client in terms of economies of scale, labour and maintenance costs, mining methods, and import duties. SRK also recommended advanced stockpiling and production schedule strategies aimed at maximizing copper recovery early in the project.

The success of SRK’s working relationship with MCSA was based on open and transparent dialogue that supported robust third party due diligence, internal review, peer challenge, and acquisition of project financing. Read more…

The Silangan project is characterized by extremely challenging drilling conditions to depths of 800 meters. Innovative drilling, well construction, and testing methods have been used to assess the hydraulic properties of a difficult volcanic stratigraphy where exploration shafts and declines were required.

Client:

Underground platinum mine

Project:

Feasibility study review, Bushveld Complex, South Africa

SRK was commissioned to conduct an independent review of a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) completed in 2010 on an underground platinum mine. The greenfields project is a 300,000 tonne per month, twin shaft access platinum mine, located in the eastern portion of the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. The 2010 BFS targets both the UG2 and Merensky reefs. The mining layout incorporates partial mechanization employing ultra-low profile (ULP) mining equipment. SRK’s mandate focused on identifying opportunities for improvement and optimization, and a presentation of results to the client.

SRK’s review covered the following aspects of the project:underground rock geotechnical, hydrogeology, shaft design and the construction schedule, electrical design, processes and equipment, mine planning for employing partial mechanization with ULP equipment, productivity, development and production scheduling, tailings and environmental management plans.

SRK was commissioned by International Tower Hill Mines to perform a characterization of hydrogeology and surface hydrology; prediction of dewatering rates and pit-slope stability; identification of mine-water supply; and prediction of environmental impacts at the Livengood open-pit gold mine in Alaska.

In 2011, SRK was commissioned by Guyana Goldfields Inc. (GGI) to prepare a Bankable Feasibility Study for the Aurora Gold Project by working with GGI and other consultants. SRK’s scope of work included mineral resource estimation, open pit and underground mine design including capital and operating cost estimates, preparation of a combined open pit/underground production schedule and compilation of the Technical Report.

SRK’s work involved optimization, design and scheduling of multiple truck/shovel open pits, analysis and optimization of the open pit – underground cross over depth, underground mine design for the main deposit to 1.3 km depth, and underground plans for the shallower surrounding “satellite” deposits. SRK contributed to the work of other consultants engaged in the design of the production shaft, underground refrigeration system and paste backfill system. The feasibility study technical report was published in April 2012.

In 2008 SRK was commissioned by Rambler Metals and Mining Canada Ltd. (RMM) to prepare a scoping level technical-economic assessment of re-starting underground production at the former producing Ming copper-gold mine in Newfoundland. Underground access was planned by rehabilitation of an existing shaft and by extending an existing ramp system. SRK selected mechanized overhand cut and fill mining for the higher value massive sulphides and lower cost longhole open stoping for the stringer type sulphides.

A preliminary assessment of the project economics was supported by operating and capital cost estimates prepared by SRK. In the following years, RMM undertook further exploration and completed a feasibility study resulting in a production decision to re-open the Ming Copper Gold Mine. On November 1, 2012 RMM announced the commencement of commercial production following a successful commissioning period.